


when something ends, something else begins

by TFLatte



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: "my sister sina has been dead for literally centuries but i can HEAR her laughing at me", Gen, Platonic Relationships, also i gave up and did the present tense thing again i'm SORRY, i don't know why it comes so much more naturally to my brain, making sure people remember your friends 101: as taught by maui, maui's going to wake up one morning and realize he accidentally adopted a kid sister, this got longer than expected
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-07 01:26:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8777593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TFLatte/pseuds/TFLatte
Summary: Moana meets Maui again six months after restoring the Heart of Te Fiti. Apparently "he followed me home" is good enough reason for Motonui to keep him.





	1. Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> I did it again! This one got a bit out of hand. I'm shooting for three chapters and I wanted to get the first one up tonight and work on the rest later. I can also tell you that chapter 3 is being written for literally one line. I'm going to have to put all that work in for one little bit of payoff. I'm looking forward to it though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made some minor edits to this fic - mostly just some small adjustments that I thought sounded better, an addition here or there. Fixed some technical mistakes I made, that kind of thing.

It took several months of daily sailing and wayfinding lessons before Moana felt confident enough in her people’s new abilities to suggest a trip beyond the reef, even a small one. Out on the sea with Maui, learning had been one thing – he’d been teaching her all day, every day, and she drank in the knowledge like coconut water. But he’d only had one student, and a student who’d spent her entire life yearning to take to the ocean. Moana, on the other hand, had an entire village to teach, just a little less experience than a centuries-old demigod, and everyone – including her – had their other duties to attend to as well.

She’d been surprised to realize just how many of her people did want to sail – there were some who insisted they were perfectly happy on Motonui and saw no need to leave, but the first lesson had seen Moana standing on the beach besides her canoe in front of almost every adult who could be spared from their duties, and what looked like every child on the island.

She’d drawn a deep, nervous breath as she felt every eye on her, and then met the gaze of her father, standing in the back of the group. He smiled, his face lit with unmistakable pride. Moana found herself smiling back, then squared her shoulders and stepped up onto the canoe and began to explain the function of each part.

Some of the villagers took to sailing almost as easily as Moana had, especially the younger ones, but she almost wished she could teach them separately from those who had more trouble. It got hard sometimes, keeping tempers in check, especially when they saw others learning so much faster than them. Luckily, after returning from her journey, Moana had gained a great deal of respect among the village, and she could usually soothe the more easily frustrated villagers – and if all else failed, she still had a pretty solid store of “what not to do” stories from her own education. It was a lot harder for people to be angry with one another when they were laughing at her miming getting dunked or smacking Maui with a sail.

She still wished her friend could be there to help, though – some days, having a giant musclebound demigod backing her up would really have helped stop fights before they began. And it might have been less embarrassing than her father having to step in – he only intervened himself when she didn’t seem up to the particular problem, and every time she felt a pang of guilt that he needed to take over when it was her responsibility to keep everyone focused.

It didn’t help that there were days when all she wanted to do was jump on her canoe and go, sail out to the line in the distance and _explore_. The trip to Te Fiti had been the most incredible experience of her life – but the thought of Motonui, the encroaching darkness, her people’s food stores dwindling, had hung over her like storm clouds waiting to break. There hadn’t exactly been time for wandering or investigating that speck in the distance that could have been an island no one had ever set foot on before. With Te Fiti’s heart restored, the fear of delays had gone – but at that moment, all Moana had wanted to do was go home and see her people and her parents, to reassure them that she was alive and safe and had thought about them every day. Now, with none of that to worry at her heart, its call was louder than ever, and sailing only far enough to teach her people and return home every day wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy her.

Eventually, though, she managed to convince everyone who wanted to sail to keep at their lessons, and it had finally paid off. It would have been worth the almost six months of being practically landlocked, the frustration, the constantly repeating herself to a dozen different people, just to see everyone’s faces as she took a group out for a real trip. They were almost overstocked on food and water, given that they were only going to be away for a week or two, but she’d seen no harm in making sure they were prepared, and it had eased the minds of several people, both back home and making the journey.

Now she’s finally out on the sea again, the spray on her face and hair, breathing in the salt, hearing the creak of wood as she leads the way, and behind her follow four more boats. Every time she looks back she can see the joy and energy in the way everyone moves and calls to each other, laughing and joking. Their sailing isn’t quite as steady as hers, but it will come – and, she reminds herself, it probably didn’t hurt her to have the ocean itself on her side. She dips a hand into the water, checking the current, then straightens to adjust the sail. As she does, she glimpses a bird high overhead and can’t help squinting up at it – no, just a gull, not a hawk. The gull might still be Maui, but somehow it doesn’t seem quite flashy enough for his tastes. A seagull can't really make an entrance.

Moana understands why Maui didn’t stay, but she wishes he’d at least stopped by to visit once or twice. There was nothing like home and no one like her people, but sometimes she wanted to talk to the only other person who’d been on the journey with her, instead of hearing the story secondhand after she’d come home. Especially since, well, there were parts of the story that she wanted to get out of her head, but she didn’t want to start telling everyone about how painful and helpless being nearly torn in half by a monstrous crab had been, or the bone-deep, aching terror that had flooded her as she desperately tried to dodge Te Ka and get through the islands alone. Some things, she didn’t really want to share with the village.

Come to think of it, that might have been why Maui had been a little vague with some of the stories he told her. Demigod or not, she knows for a fact he could and did get scared and miserable, and proud. Sharing his lowest moments and terrible fears probably ranks about as low on his list of things to do as tossing his fishhook into a whirlpool. If she did end up sharing feelings, she’d give him about even odds of either brushing it off with a joke or awkwardly trying to change the subject.

Okay, maybe a little chance of him coming out with something surprisingly helpful too. Maybe.

One way or the other though, Moana has a job to do, and she puts Maui out of her mind and refocuses on sailing.

A week later, they had turned for home, and she’d dropped back to let the others test their skills without her guiding them the whole way. The others are taking them on nearly a perfect route home, and every time she checks their course Moana feels a warm glow of pride deep in her chest – and a touch of relief, as well. She couldn’t have done too badly teaching them, it seems.

Moana had taken some dried fish from her stores – and this time, she’d checked each compartment before they set out. Heihei was not stowing away again. Glancing up at the sky as she eats, she almost misses the flash of gray in the corner of her vision. She looks just in time to see a dolphin leap out of the waves and onto her boat – and change form just in time for Maui to stick the landing and nearly swamp half her canoe. “Miss me, princess?”

“ _Maui_!” Moana is torn between wanting to hug him and smack him. She settles for glaring, though she can’t stop herself from smiling at least a little. “Be careful, you almost tipped my boat!”

Maui laughs. “Yeah, good to see you too. This bucket’s better made than that, it survived Te Ka, didn’t it?”

Moana shakes her head, unable to hold back a laugh. “Where have you been? It’s been months!”

Maui shrugs expressively, grinning wide. “Demigod stuff! I figured someone had to clear out the monsters still swimming around, make sure certain wayfinders didn’t run into anything they couldn’t handle with the power of believing in themselves really hard.” He preens. “Didn’t you notice what smooth sailing it was?”

Moana snorts. “I figured it was because I wasn’t on a quest to save the world this week, actually. Or maybe they were just naturally drawn to you.” She grins back. “You know, from the smell.”

Maui splutters indignantly for a second and Moana spots Mini-Maui snickering from his chest. “Unbelievable! I spend months chasing monsters and nearly getting chunks taken out of me every week and not even a _little_ gratitude. Would it kill you? Are you allergic to it, is that the problem?”

She giggles and waves a hand. “Okay, okay. Thank you, Maui – and if you try to make another big show of ‘you’re welcome’ I’m pushing you back in the ocean before you try to steal my canoe.”

“That happened _one time_.”

“You tried to trap me in a cave.”

“Details! Anyway, that’s not the only thing I had to do. Your village isn’t the only one that hasn’t been sailing for a few centuries, and most of them forgot how, too. Someone had to help them out.”

“Oh.” That makes a lot of sense, actually. She hadn’t thought much about other islands being just as isolated as hers. Moana notices the others looking back from their own boats, staring at her and Maui. She can’t blame them, Maui’s appearance had been almost as surprising to her, but she raises her voice and calls to them “We’re drifting off course!” Maui glances over as the other villagers scramble to correct.

“Already voyaging? I should’ve known. Hey, what do you have to eat around here? I’m starved.” Without waiting for an answer he opens the hatch, rummages for a moment, and scoops out some _uhi_ , and Moana rolls her eyes as he starts eating.

“It’s just a test run, we were on our way home. Can you not eat all my food? I kind of need it.”

“Oh please, you had less than this when you found me,” Maui answers with his mouth full. Moana gives a long-suffering sigh.

It’s good to see him again.

Moana expects Maui to take off again soon, but instead he stays for the rest of the trip back to Motonui. He goes between boats to pass along sailing advice or strike up conversations, often shapeshifting so he can fly back and forth, even separating from the group entirely and disappearing into the clouds or the sea sometimes, but he always comes back to Moana’s boat eventually to joke and banter (and eat more of her food – he’s right that she doesn’t need all of it, they’re getting close to home now, but it’s the principle of the thing).

She can’t hear most of what he and the others talk about, but from what she does catch, and what she picks up from talking to them herself, he’s making a good first impression. Surprisingly good, considering the one he made on her. Being free to fly and sail and do what he wants must have been good for him.

Finally, late one morning, she hears the shouts go up as Motonui appears on the horizon. Moana smiles at the sight, already anticipating their reception. She also plans to share some of the less flattering stories from the trip – Konani managing to tip his canoe entirely on a calm sea might do his ego some good.

Maui lands on the canoe beside her, changing from hawk form much more gracefully than he could from a dolphin. “That’s the place, huh?” He folds his arms, looking almost thoughtful.

“That’s home,” Moana says, and Maui glances at her and smirks.

“So how worried should I be? I mean, this _is_ the place that made you, after all.” Moana smacks his arm with a laugh and shakes her head as Motonui grows larger and larger before them.


	2. Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moana and Maui have some serious party talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last! I am so relieved to finally get this out. This was literally the entire reason I wanted to write this fic(which, given that it's not actually finished, is still way out of control, fyi). 
> 
> Hopefully I can get chapter 3 out smoothly but let's be realistic here. It'll be a while.
> 
> Also, I'd like to note: I'm trying to research before I reference anything cultural but I am fully aware that I don't know what I'm doing so if I get something wrong please please please let me know! I don't want to be an insensitive jerk, so if I make mistakes I do want to hear about them so I can fix them.

Half the village is waiting for them as they arrive, Tui at their head. Moana can already hear surprised murmurs as everyone notices that she picked up a passenger on the trip – or, rather, a shadow; Maui seems to have decided to follow her around. At least he’s making himself useful, helping bring the boats up onto the sand where the tide won’t carry them away. Friend or not, Moana doesn’t think the ocean is really above teaching her a lesson or two about carelessness. As she walks up the beach, the water swirls around her ankles for longer than anyone else’s, following her as long as it can before settling back again. Her father is still waiting, but she knows he’d rather see her being careful than rushing to greet him. Ever since she came back from Te Fiti, he’s been stepping back even further to watch how she handles her new responsibilities.

She reaches the group of waiting villagers, her wayfinders having already rejoined the group to talk to their friends and families. Maui stands a few steps behind her and to the side.

Moana smiles at everyone and projects her voice so they can all hear. “Everyone did really well out on the sea, I can’t wait to bring more people out next time!”

Her father nodded. “You taught them well.” Then he looks behind her, at Maui. “Now, I think we’d all like you to introduce your friend, here.” He winks at Moana and she grins back. Glancing over her shoulder, she sees Maui cheerfully waving to the islanders, Mini-Maui striking heroic poses and moving around Maui’s chest to give everyone a good look.

Moana turns back. “This is Maui, we, ah, ran into him on the way home and he decided to come visit Motonui.” At the end her voice falters a little as she realizes she never actually asked if he meant to stay, turning her words into a question, and she glances at him quizzically.

“Yup! Everything I heard about the place sailing with you, I figured it sounded like the place to be.” Maui slung his fishhook back to rest on his shoulder.

Tui turns towards him and nods respectfully. “Moana has told us about you as well. Your help preparing for tonight’s celebration will be greatly appreciated.” Moana recognizes the tone; it’s his Chief Voice, the one that means he’s not making a request.

Maui doesn’t seem to notice. “You got it, Demigod of Helpfulness, that’s me. Uh, celebration?”

“For the safe return of Moana and her first wayfinders.” Tui smiles at the group, who all stand straighter, clapping each other on the shoulder and beaming at each other. “Well?” he calls to the villagers. “What are you waiting for? We have work to do!” The group disperses with an immediate rush of excited conversation, leaving Tui, Maui, and Moana the only ones on the beach. Tui beckons Moana. “We’ll need you helping to organize.”

“Of course!” The sand under her feet is soft and warm, and Moana almost regrets having to leave it. But she smiles back at her father and trots up the beach back to the village.

By the time evening falls and the fires are being lit, Moana breathes a sigh of relief. She’s been running around all day, except for the few minutes she took to see her mother, but it’ll be worth it. It always is, after all. Still restless so soon after the sea, Moana wanders among the fires, fish wrapped in still-warm leaves in one hand, letting familiarity wash over her. One day – not for a long time, she asks the gods – all this will truly be her responsibility. It’s almost overwhelming to think of, but on nights like this, Moana knows she’ll be okay when that time comes.

Rounding another fire, Moana spots an unmistakable form sitting nearby. Maui has a bowl heaped with chicken at his side and half a dozen children surrounding him. The youngest is enthralled with Mini-Maui, giggling and reaching for him as he hops around Maui’s other tattoos. The others seem equally fascinated by the story Maui is telling, complete with dramatic gestures.

“-said, ‘look buddy, it’s simple, either you slow down or I kick your shiny butt from here to Lalotai and back,’ and even all the way back then, everyone knew Maui, I was the toughest guy around, so – careful kid, those nails are sharp,” the last to the little girl who’d made a somewhat overenthusiastic grab for Mini-Maui, who finally retreats back up to Maui’s shoulder. Playmate gone, the girl pouts for a moment before using Maui’s arm to pull herself up and wander off back to her sister. Maui clears his throat and turns back to the other children to finish the story. Moana hangs back, eating her fish as she waits, until Maui wraps up with a flourish. “And he’s still scared of me to this day!”

“Tell another!” pleads Arihi. She looks positively starry-eyed, and Moana has to smother a giggle. “Please!”

“Well…”Maui draws out the word in mock reluctance, before ruffling Arihi’s hair. “Aw, I can never say no to a pretty face. Alright, how about…hey, I know, the story of how I got my hook back! You’ll like that one.” He pats the fishhook at his side.

Tiare, sitting next to Arihi, wrinkles her nose. “Aw, we know that one! Moana tells it to us!”

The girl in question takes that opportunity to join them. “It’s true,” she tells Maui, grinning. “Sorry to steal your thunder.”

“Moana tells stories best,” Rua says with the air of imparting a great secret to Maui. “She does the song and everything.”

“The song?” Maui looks at Moana, and then realization dawns with a slow grin. “Wait, Tamatoa’s song?”

“Well, I mean, not the whole thing, you know, I was kinda distracted for some of it, but it was pretty catchy, right?” Moana grins sheepishly and realizes Maui’s smile is growing wider and wider. Then he bursts out laughing. Moana groans and shakes her head. After a few seconds of cackling she crosses her arms and gives him her best chief-face, which sets the children off giggling. “Alright, seriously, that’s enough out of you, sharkhead.”

“Ooh, yeah! Did you really turn into a sharkhead?” Tiare sits up straighter. “What was that like? Did you have gills? How did you see?”

Maui is still snickering, but he’s at least calming down. “Singing for the kids. That’s adorable, princess.” He looks back at the kids. “So she told you about the shark head too, huh?”

Nods from all the children.

“And I guess you want to see it?”

More nods. Tiare’s eyes have grown wide, and she’s holding her breath.

“Well, I don’t know, maybe- shark head!” Maui, changed in a flash, bares his teeth and waves his fins to delighted shrieks. Rua falls backwards onto Arihi, both giggling. Tiare pokes at one fin curiously before pulling back and peering at her hand as the rough skin scratches her. Moana hears a few chuckles from around them, too – apparently she isn’t the only one who took note of Maui and his audience. As the children settle down again, Maui changes back. “Alright, storytime’s over, kids, go dance or something,” he tells them good-naturedly, and they disperse, Tiare tugging Arihi off to find something to eat.

“So, already making friends, huh?” Moana leans back on her hands.

“Yeah, well, what can I say? I’m a people person.” Maui shrugs cheerfully. “Besides, I don’t mind kids. Worst they usually do is ask you weird questions. So, what have you been up to, anyway? How’s the ocean treating you?”

“I haven’t really been able to go sailing since I got home, remember? I’ve had to teach everyone, help bring in fish and the harvest, help fix the boats in the cavern…it’s been busy, Maui. Really, really busy. I couldn’t drop it and go back to the sea.” Moana sighed. “Even though I kind of wanted to, some days. You found us on the first voyage out.”

Maui shook his head. “You know, I know voyaging, that wasn’t voyaging. That was a day trip. You didn’t even find anything.”

Moana frowned sharply. “Well, it’s not like we could go looking for a brand new island! It’s only been a few months, my father and I agreed I couldn’t take them that far. We had to make sure they were ready, and that I hadn’t forgotten anything that they needed to know, that I hadn’t just gotten lucky picking a boat that was still intact-“

“Okay, okay, you had a lot on your plate, I’m just saying.” Maui holds up his hands placatingly. "Didn't mean it that way." Moana sighs.

“Sorry. It’s just been frustrating. That trip out was good for me, I think. I missed the ocean. But it’s still good to be with my people.”

“I don’t blame you, if you’re always eating like this.” Maui motions to the bowl beside him. “This is good chicken. Speaking of, how’s Heihei? I didn’t see him around today.”

“Oh, he’s – somewhere…”Moana trails off, staring at the bowl. Maui follows her gaze and nearly chokes.

“Uh, that’s not…”

“You don’t think…”

“Hold on, hold on.” Maui takes another bite and chews slowly, thoughtfully. Moana watches him, and after a few moments, he shakes his head. “Can’t be. Heihei was skinnier than this. You, uh, didn’t fatten him up these last few months, did you?”

Moana’s shoulders relax. “No, he’s still pretty much the same. I’m sure he’s around here somewhere. I asked my mother to look after him while I was gone.”

“Okay, good, I’d hate to eat your weird bird buddy.” Crisis averted, Maui goes back to eating.

“It would be weird for Heihei to get all the way across the ocean and back with me and then for you to just eat him.”

“Yeah, I try not to eat people’s friends. Usually it's not nearly this hard.”

As if on cue, Moana feels a cold nose at her elbow and looks to see Pua eyeing the rest of her fish, giving her a hopeful look. She smiles and scratches his ears.

“Hey, Pua. How many people have you already scammed out of their food tonight, huh?” She gives him a piece anyway and Pua gulps it with happy little grunts before plopping down next to her, rolling onto his side so she can scratch his belly. She looks up to see Maui’s curious look. “Oh, right! I forgot you two haven’t met. Pua, Maui. Maui, this is Pua, we’ve been friends since I was a little girl.”

“Right. Of course.” Maui nods seriously. “Just one question: why are all your friends delicious?”

Pua squeals a protest as Moana snorts.

“No, seriously! The chicken, a pig, maybe you should keep this going and win over Tamatoa!”

“Yeah, you know, I think I’m good, thanks.” They both fall quiet, Moana scratching Pua’s ears. The sounds of the village around them fill the silence for several minutes, until Moana speaks again. “Hey, Maui?”

“What?”

“Do you have any friends?”

Several seconds pass. Maui gives her an incredulous look and Moana winces.

“Okay, that sounded really bad. I mean, like, actual friends, people who like hanging out with you-“

“I’m actually curious how much deeper you can dig this hole.”

“Oh gods.” Moana rubs her face. “Look, I just – well, I have Pua and Heihei, but- don’t you have anyone to just talk to?”

Maui shrugs. “Well, there’s Mini-Maui.”

“I guess, but – well, I guess it just seems a little strange to me, you just having a tattoo of yourself for a friend.”

“You know I’ve been on an island for a thousand years, right?”

“Okay, okay, forget I asked.” Moana shakes her head. Pua bumps her knee with his snout and she realizes she stopped petting him.

It’s another few minutes before Maui speaks. “It’s…not actually that weird, you know.”

“The friend thing?”

“Yeah. I mean, most of the immortals I know are either monsters or gods, and the gods…well, they’re complicated to start with. Definitely not the kind of people you hang out with.” He sighs, the flames before them flickering as he breathes out before they recove. “And mortals…that’s rough.”

Moana frowns. “Rough?”

Maui looks at her again, face serious. “How long do you expect to live?”

“Uh.” That wasn’t the question she was expecting. “I don’t know, maybe – seventy, eighty-“

“Exactly.” Maui nods. “You have maybe a century, if you’re _really_ lucky. _If_ you don’t drown or fall off a cliff or eat bad seafood.” Moana’s beginning to realize where this is going. “I spent a thousand years marooned. Sure, it was the worst experience of my life, but I’m still in my prime. Do you know how many humans I remember? People who no one else even knows existed?”

“I…hadn’t thought of that.” Moana draws her knees up to her chin. Of course she knows she’s going to outlive Pua and Heihei, she always has. But she tries to imagine outliving all the people around her, their children and grandchildren and even their memories, and feels a tug of grief in her chest. “That’s awful.”

“It’s not great.” Maui rests his arms on his knees, staring into the fire.

Moana looks up. “But you came and found me anyway. When we were out on the sea. Not-voyaging.”

He gives her a half-smile. “Yeah, well. It was a little too late then not to make friends.” Then the smile broadens and he stretches out again. “Besides, someone’s gotta keep an eye out, make sure you get things right. Might as well do it where I can get a good meal out of it, right?”

Moana smiles back. “Right.”

Eventually the fires begin to die and the villagers begin to disperse to get some sleep. Maui nudges Moana awake as she dozes, and she wakes Pua, yawning as she pushes off Maui’s arm to stand up.

“Maui? Where were you planning to sleep?” She should find somewhere to put him, she knows, but another yawn and the thought of sleep scrambles her thoughts again.

“Don’t worry about me, curly, I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m hard to get rid of.” He winks as he gets up.

“Okay.” Another yawn. She turns to go, but a thought occurs to her and she looks back. “You know, I…haven’t really had a lot of friends other than Pua.”

“That so?” Maui looks a little confused, or at least Moana thinks so.

“Yeah.” She gives him a sleepy smile. “It’s nice. Having a friend. I’m glad.”

He blinks, then chuckles. “Go home, Moana. You’re starting to sound delirious.”

Moana makes a face at him, then she and Pua turn for home. After a few moments, she hears wings and a breeze ruffles her hair as the sound grows further away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes okay let's talk Your Brief Insignificant Lifespan And Transient Mortality with the teenager, Maui, that sounds like a good way to spend a nice celebration of said teenager's success.
> 
> Anyway, I'm 120% certain Maui's good with kids. The tattoos are impressive and he's got all kinds of stories that are just the kind of story kids like - lots of action and adventure and fighting cool monsters. The story Maui's telling is based on a version of the story where he slows down the sun - the most Disney-suited version I could find, to fit the canon, in which Maui and his brothers lasso the sun and out of fear the sun promises to slow down in exchange for his life.


	3. Hatu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot going on in Moana's life, and there's about to be more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got really long but I got equally stubborn and refused to break it up. I said three chapters and I meant three chapters!
> 
> Also I'm personally offended by the lack of Sina content I've been seeing.

When she gets up in the morning, Moana can’t help but wonder if Maui changed his mind and took off again, but she spots him not an hour later, laden with baskets of coconuts and cracking jokes with the villagers around him. She has too much to do to talk to him more than in passing, but he seems to be getting along just fine. He’s certainly going to be busy, too – there’s always more to do on Motonui, and her father clearly isn’t shy about putting a demigod to work.

She expects him to move on after maybe a week, to go off back to his usual heroics and maybe drop by to visit occasionally, but a month passes, and then another, stretching to three, and he spends more time on the island than off it. He does leave periodically, but never for more than a few days at a time.

“Hey, I was stranded for a thousand years, even small village life is fun after that,” is all he says when she asks, and Moana shrugs. She isn’t _complaining_ that he’s decided to stick around. If he’s decided he wants to stay for a while, he’s welcome. After all, he did help her save the world.

Besides, with the village preparing for a real voyage, they can use all the help they can get.

Her father had pulled her aside to ask her “You know better than any of us what a voyage will be like. Are we prepared to begin seeking out new islands?” and Moana could have shouted for joy. (She might have squealed a little, afterwards. In private, though.)

“I think we’re as ready as we can be. Honestly, Dad, there’s not much else we can do _to_ be ready. Everyone knows everything I could teach them, and all the trips out have come back, from here the only way we can get any more ready is to…just go.”

 “You’re sure?” Her father’s voice is steady, but Moana still remembers what her mother told her, and she had wondered if she imagined the shadow that darted across his face.

She squared her shoulders and nodded firmly. “I’m sure. This is what our people were made to do, what we did for centuries. We’re ready to do it again.”

Tui had nodded. “Good.” Then he’d softened, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve done incredible things, giving the sea back to us. I can only look forward to what else you’ll do, one day.” Moana had smiled and hugged him, and remembered her grandmother’s visit that night before she returned to Te Fiti.

After that had come a whirlwind of preparations, the entire village becoming swept up in the excitement. Moana had even pestered Maui with enough questions to drive him to shapeshift and take off for a day. At long last, though, the day came. Moana trotted between boats waiting on the beach, making her fifth check for any problems as the villagers loaded their holds. She had her oar in hand, alternately resting it against her shoulder and twirling it in her hands as she walked. Pua trotted after her, looking around in awe at the boats being readied to launch.

Moana weaves around people hurrying back and forth until she nearly bumps into Maui, standing oddly still. He's looking up at one of the sails – the one that shows him. Moana pokes him pointedly with the oar.

“Excuse me.” He gave a start, looking down at her.

“Oh, hey, uh, sorry.” He steps back and she glances at the sail. She’s wondered once or twice about the smaller figures around the image of Maui – four of them, three men and one woman. They’re more detailed than the pictures of humans on the other sails, and she wonders if they were meant to be specific people.

“It’s not going to tear again, you know. We fixed it a while ago – and anyway, the ancestors must have been really careful putting their canoes in that cavern. Hardly any of them were damaged.”

He pauses, looking away from the sail again. Mini-Maui is sitting on his shoulder and pats it, looking a little dejected. “Right, right. Sure.” Whatever’s going on in his mind, he seems to rally from it. “So is that why you’ve been crawling all over them all morning?”

“I just want to be sure!” Moana spins the oar again, back and forth under her fingers. “I mean…this is right, isn’t it? We’re not doing something wrong that we don’t know about and won’t figure out until it’s too late?”

“You’re asking that question now?”

Moana laughs nervously. “This whole past week, actually.”

“Wow.” Maui shakes his head, but he’s smiling. “You guys are doing fine, okay? Breathe. Anyway, you’ve got me to take care of you!” He strikes a pose, chest thrown out.

Moana giggles. “Okay, okay, we should probably get ready to go. It’s almost time.”

She could get used to this.

* * *

 

The first few days of the voyage are the most stressful. Moana spends a lot of time moving between boats – not an easy task, but she’s getting the hang of it – and making corrections, and it takes some time for individual boats to stop drifting away from the group as their wayfinders try to adjust course. But things improve every day, and Moana isn’t the only person working with those who are having trouble. If she listens closely, over the waves she can usually hear advice and suggestions shouted between boats. She also periodically sees some of her people, those who took to wayfinding more easily, speaking quietly to those who didn’t, and afterwards their boats sail more easily.

Maui spends a lot of time in hawk form, soaring around the masts, vanishing briefly into the clouds before returning, but night usually finds him human again, visiting different boats to eat and talk with their occupants, and taking over for a few hours to let others get some sleep. Most of the boats have enough people that his help isn’t quite needed, but it’s certainly appreciated. Moana’s pretty sure that a lot of her people are finding the voyage more draining than they expected – though from what she can see and hear, not one of them thinks it isn’t worth it.

One afternoon, she and her mother are both on her canoe, mended sail proudly displaying Te Fiti’s spiral. Her mother is telling her a story from when she was a young woman.

“-so there he is, one foot in the hole and still trying to flirt, when I see it.”

“See what?” Moana speaks through a giggle at the image of her father awkwardly trying to be charming with a foot in some animal’s burrow.

“There’s this enormous centipede-“

“-oh _no_ -“

“-crawling up his leg. Of course, I tried not to look at it, but I don’t think that helped when he saw me go for the nearest stick! He tried to back up, forgot he still hadn’t gotten his foot out, and falls right on his backside!”

“And then what?”

“Oh, the centipede bounced right up into his lap. He and I both tried to knock it off him at the same time – I think his hand was bruised for days. I was still holding the stick, you see.”

Moana claps her hand to her mouth, laughing. “Poor Dad!”

Sina giggles. “I did feel awful about it, but if he had just held still a little longer…”

They both laugh again. Moana leans against the mast, still grinning. “He must have been really in love if you smacking him with a stick didn’t scare him off.”

“I’d hope so!” Sina winks at her, smiling.

Moana smiles back, then looks around and scales the mast to get a better view. Her mother watches as Moana scans the sea around them and makes a quick check of the boats – nothing unusual there, good. She comes back down and her mother sighs, relaxing a little.

“You know, I always worry you’ll fall when you do that,” she remarks.

“It’s not that bad a drop, I’d be okay.” Moana pauses. “Well, it would probably hurt to hit the boat, but.”

“Who said I was worried about you?” her mother teases. “I worry that hard head of yours would put a hole in the canoe.” Moana pulls a face at Sina, who laughs. “I’m sure you’d be fine, but I can’t help it.”

Moana hums acknowledgement, and they fall silent for a little while, until she speaks again. “How are you…doing, so far? It was really strange for me, when I first sailed away. Are you…”she searches for the right word. “Enjoying it?”

“Enjoying it? It’s amazing!” Her mother sounds so happy that it’s almost contagious. “I wish we could have done this when I was a girl. I never imagined this was what I was missing.”

Moana nods. “It is pretty great.” Especially, she has to admit, when you’re voyaging just to voyage, and you can appreciate it fully. The ropes in your hands, the deck rocking, the endless blue and white of the sea and the sky-

Actually, now that she looks, the sky is starting to look kind of gray.

“Mom? Do those look like storm clouds to you?”

She hears a sharp intake of breath behind her. “They don’t look good, that’s for sure.”

Moana grimaces, then moves beside her mother. “I’ll take over – I think you should go warn everyone.” Her frown deepens, and she adds “Especially Dad.” Her mother looks at her for a moment, hesitant, and then understanding. Sina nods slowly and passes the boat to her daughter. Before she goes, she pauses to hug Moana tight.

“Be careful.” Moana hugs her back before Sina pulls away and goes to pass the word on. Tying her hair back, Moana grips the rope in her hand firmly and takes a deep breath.

The storm comes quickly and hits hard. She hears shouts around her, but it doesn’t take long for them to be drowned out by the wind. Moana battles the rising waves, cresting and dropping again and again. They leave her soaked to the bone but she barely feels it. The storm screams in her ears, and she snatches a moment to pray, just for a second, before she throws every thought back into sailing.

She flinches for just a fraction of a second as through the rain a figure appears in front of her before recognizing Maui. Shaking her head, she shouts over the storm. “Go help the others!” She waves an arm in the direction of the other boats, both for emphasis and because she doesn’t really know if he can hear her.

“What about you?” It’s hard to make out what he’s saying, but he doesn’t look happy.

She shakes her head hard. “I’ll be fine! They need you! Go!” She would love to be able to explain – they have less experience than her, none of them have weathered a storm at sea (she tries not to think that technically, neither has she), they’re her responsibility – but there’s no time. “Go!” she yells again, pointing, and as unhappy as he might be, he goes and leaves her to concentrate on staying upright.

An hour later, she’s starting to realize that might not have been her greatest decision.

The storm batters her ceaselessly and her world has narrowed to her canoe as she wrestles it, desperate to stay upright. She can’t think about anything else, not the fact that all she hears is wind or that all she sees are waves.

Moana doesn’t actually know how long it is before the storm passes – her muscles are all screaming and her mind still feels distant, heart pounding in her chest almost hard enough to hurt. Finally though, she lifts her head and looks, thinking to count the boats, dreading what she’ll see.

The bottom drops out of her stomach.

She doesn’t see a reduced fleet. She doesn’t see anything. The ocean is empty around her, and she realizes too late that the storm drove her far, far off course.

A very small whimper escapes her throat.

She has no idea what’s happened to everyone else, no idea where they are now, if they were scattered like she was or worse, and her stomach churns. Her hair is coming loose again, soaked and hanging down in her eyes. Her fingers are locked around the rope and she doesn’t know what to do with them.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she forces air into her lungs. After a few deep breaths she opens her eyes again. Her hands are trembling but she relaxes her grip to something less painful.

“Okay. I can do this. Okay. I sailed past Te Ka. I’m the first wayfinder in a thousand years. I can find them.” This is the point where she thinks she could use an ancestral pep talk, but with no sign of her grandmother or spectral boats, she resigns herself to giving her own. “I _can_.” She considers asking the ocean, but she hasn’t had a great track record with talking it into helping her out. Maybe she’ll just leave that in reserve. For if she gets really desperate.

Moana checks her supplies and starts a mental tally.

When the stars come out, the clouds have cleared, and she’s grateful for that. It at least gives her a starting point, and she gets to work. She can at least try to get back to – roughly – where she’d been. Maybe she can make it back to Motonui, but then…nearly the whole village, even her parents, would think she’s gone until they get home.

The first day is the worst. She’s still coming down off the initial panic, and still thinking about everything that could have happened, and that could still happen, to her and her people. She doesn’t eat until her stomach starts to hurt.

The second day, she hasn’t slept, and she feels like she’s looking at her emotions from underwater – distant, oddly distorted, and strange. It’s better than fear gnawing at her, though.

The third day is dull in more ways than one. She’s wilting, exhaustion pressing in, and takes to dunking her head underwater to stay alert.

As the fourth day dawns, Moana is wondering if she might be able to find rocks to tie the boat to so she can sleep. Then frantic squawking sounds overhead. She looks up slowly to see a seagull diving from the sky and wonders if she’s lucky enough to be near land. Then the ragged gull drops to the boat and shifts into Maui. He sweeps her into a bone-crushing hug before she can react.

“You’re okay, thank the gods, everyone thought-“he breaks off, and Moana, now much more awake than she was a minute ago, squeaks out a few breathless words.

“Maui…can’tbreathe…”He lets go so fast she nearly falls on her backside, catching at him to steady herself as she gets her breath back.

“Sorry! Sorry, sorry, I just. I didn’t know when I’d find you.” There are bags under Maui’s eyes, and his hair is a mess.

Moana rubs her eyes for a moment, knowing there’s something-“The others! My people, are they…”she trails off, not quite wanting to voice the thought, as if saying the words could tip some delicate balance.

“They’re okay, they made it. A few boats went over during the storm but I pulled them back up, and they found land to shelter on and recover. Everyone’s fine.” He cracks a tiny smile. “Even Pua.”

Moana sags with relief. “Oh, good. Good, that’s good.” She yawns wide as her body starts clamoring for rest again.

“Moana, listen, I’m – so sorry, there was so much going on, I didn’t think to check on you until it was too late, and then…and you’re asleep-“

“No, no,” she yawns, “I’m awake.” She sways and this time he’s the one to catch her.

“You’re really not. Go to sleep. I’ll get you back to your voyagers.” That sounds like the best idea she’s heard in days, honestly. Moana is just awake enough to take a few shaky steps out of the way and let Maui take over before she sinks down to curl up. She blinks a few times, and before she closes her eyes at last she glimpses Mini-Maui, leaning on his hook and watching her. He sees her looking and gives her a little wave, and she falls asleep secure in the knowledge that both Mauis are looking out for her.

Moana doesn’t wake up until the sun is rising again. She rubs her aching neck as she sits up again, groaning as the last few days’ exertion hits her all at once.

“Welcome back, curly,” Maui calls from atop the sail before he hops down, nimbly landing beside her. “Good timing, we’re almost there.” He takes her hand and pulls her to her feet, and Moana braces herself against the mast to squint ahead of them.

“Yeah, I think I see it – there, with the two mountains?” She points and Maui nods.

“That’s the one.” Moana nods back and opens the hold as her stomach growls. It only takes a moment for coconut water to wash the taste of salt out of her mouth, and she devours some breadfruit along with it. Turning back, still chewing, she catches Maui yawning and frowns. She knows he doesn’t need quite as much sleep as an ordinary human, but he still needs it – and if he’s tired, it has to have been a few days since he slept, too.

“I can get us there,” she offers. “If you want to take a nap or something.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Last time I listened to you, it nearly got you stranded at sea.” Moana rolls her eyes.

“I can literally see the island, and it’s not storming now. Don’t you at least need to eat?”

“I fished while I was flying, I’m fine.” He waves a hand dismissively. Moana sighs and shakes her head at him.

“If you say so.” At least he’s not actually nodding off like she’d been. Leaning back against the mast, she watches the island grow larger and clearer before them. It looks surprisingly familiar from a distance, like someone had just taken Motonui and adjusted it a little.

As soon as she steps off the boat she can hear people in the trees, and hurries to catch up and reassure them that she’s alive and well. Her mother hugs her almost too hard to breathe through and scolds, “I thought I told you to be careful!”

Her father is shaking – just a little, but she feels it – when he hugs her. “Moana. Please – for our sake, don’t make this a habit.”

“I won’t, I promise.” She squeezes them both before offering a smile. “So you found an island without me!”

“It’s beautiful, you’ll love it,” Sina tells her. “There’s this enormous waterfall flowing from the south mountain, come see.”

It’s strange to feel new ground under her feet, and Moana presses her toes into the dirt with a thrill. As she wanders, she finds she can’t stand still for more than a few minutes at a time – there’s just too much to see, to find. The island is enormous.

The afternoon after she rejoins her people, she’s contemplating trying to climb the mountains when she sees her mother approaching, looking around. She passes Maui, playing with some children, and gives him a distracted nod. Deftly avoiding one of the children sprinting past, she spots Moana and rushes over to her.

“Moana! Come with me, your father’s on the beach. There’s someone coming.”

Moana races after her down to the shore. There, rapidly growing closer, come four large canoes, their sails intricately patterned. She stares, eyes wide. From this distance, she can’t see any details about the people aboard – fewer than had come from Motonui – but they’re unmistakably approaching the island. Some of her people are already on the beach, watching, and a few more are approaching, drawn by the group or a glimpse of the approaching boats.

Looking to her father, Moana straightens her shoulders as she stands beside him. Her mother moves to stand on his other side. She puts a hand gently on Tui’s shoulder and Moana watches them trade looks she can’t read before both return their attention to the people sailing towards them.

As the canoes draw closer, they can see the strangers watching them, just as alert and cautious as Moana’s people are, but they land on the shore regardless. A tall woman, heavyset and older than Tui, approaches them, and Tui steps forward to meet her. Moana follows suit and notices the man following the woman. They have the same chin, and the same nose – mother and son, she guesses. He’s young, but at least a few years older than her.

The woman stops before Tui, and both nod to each other respectfully.

“I am Chief Ruita of Motomanu. I have led my people on a voyage that brought us here. Is this your island?”

He shakes his head no. “I am Chief Tui, of Motonui. My people arrived here only three days ago.”

Ruita nods. “I see. I imagine many villages are discovering new islands.” She smiles slightly. “We can only hope all who meet do so peacefully.” Ruita gestures to the man beside her. “This is my son, Tepano.”

“True.” Tui motions to Sina, then to Moana, who stands just a little straighter. “This is my wife Sina, and my daughter, Moana.”

Tepano looks at her with a start. “Moana?” he echoes, furrowing his brow.

“Um…yes?” she answers, blinking. “That’s me. Hello.”

 “Tepano…”his mother says in a low tone. Tui eyes him with a frown.

“ _You’re_ Moana of Motonui. That’s-”

“Hero of the Islands!” a voice from behind them calls out, and Moana looks back to see Maui strolling down the beach to join them, children trailing behind him like chicks. “It’s actually Moana of Motonui, Hero of the Islands, I’m sure I mentioned that part. Sorry to interrupt, you were saying?”

“Maui! We had not expected to meet you here.” Ruita bows her head to him, and after a moment Tepano follows her lead.

“Ah, don’t let me stop you, I’m sure you were in the middle of something. I just came to find out what everyone was talking about down here.”

“Um, actually, can we go back to that thing? That you were just saying? When you came down here?” Moana is not entirely sure she could have heard it right.

Tepano looks a little sour. “I don’t believe she’s Moana of Motonui…Hero of the Islands. You’re what, fourteen?”

“Sixteen, actually, and about that-“

“Believe it, kid.” Maui grins. “That’s her.” He claps a hand on Moana’s shoulder, and she manages to brace herself, locking her knees. Her dignity is saved, at least from the embarrassment of falling because Maui forgot she’s smaller than him – though her feet do sink a few inches deeper into the sand.

“I think,” Moana mutters to him, “that we’re going to have to have a talk.”

* * *

 

After the new voyagers have dispersed to explore the island for themselves, Sina takes one look at Moana and Maui and rounds up the children Maui had been watching, herding them back to the rest of the villagers and leaving the two of them to their talk.

“Okay. What was that?” Moana folds her arms.

“That was me getting your title right. I mean, you can’t be a legendary hero if people keep leaving out your titles-“

“That’s not what I mean!” Moana gestures wildly. “Hero of the Islands? When did that happen? Why did he know my name anyway?”

“Uh, ‘cause I told him? I mean, come on, how else?”

“But!” Moana presses her hands to her face and sucks in a breath. “Okay. Okay, start at the beginning and explain everything. Why are you telling people about me?”

Maui shrugs. “Well, turns out, uh, you weren’t the only person who was mad at me about the whole Heart of Te Fiti thing." He looks more than a little embarrassed to admit it. "A lot of the islands I visited to teach wayfinding again, they wanted explanations, wanted to know why it was supposed to be safe again. So I told them.”

“Okay…and the ‘hero’ thing?”

He blinks slowly. “You are one. You’re the one who restored the Heart, remember?” He pauses. “Anyway, it’s kind of hard to make yourself the hero of a story when you’re not actually the one who saved the world.”

“Oh.” Moana pauses. “So…you’ve been going around to all those islands…telling everyone _I’m_ their hero?”

“That’s about it. One of their heroes, anyway.” A slow grin crosses his face. “Besides, didn’t you ever want people to remember your name? Let me tell you, people remember a name with a heroic title attached to it.”

“…I’m gonna be honest, ‘Hero of the Islands’ does sound kind of cool,” Moana admits.

“See? Just remember to act cool when people say it, I know it’s gonna be hard, you haven’t had centuries to practice-” he winks “-but just remember: it’s who you are.”

Moana smiles back at him. Then something catches her eye. “Hey, wait a minute.” She grabs his necklace, lifting it out of the way.

“What?” Maui frowns slightly, looking down.

Moana gasps. “Look! Your…me, the tattoo, she moved!” She points. The tattoo had definitely been standing and waving when it had appeared – Moana was not going to forget that moment anytime soon. Now, though, she was sitting on the edge of her canoe, still smiling, feet dangling in the waves beneath her.

“Wait – really?” Maui cranes his neck to see, then looks accusingly at Mini-Maui. “I thought that was you moving around!” Mini-Maui snickers. As Moana watches, Mini-Moana’s eyes open, and she looks up at her counterpart and waves. Moana blinks a few times, then lifts a hand to return the greeting.

“Wow.” She looks up at Maui. “Did you know she was alive too?”

“No! Usually my tattoos just react to Mini-Maui, he’s the only one who’s ever really been alive. And apparently he’s been _hiding things_.” He glares, getting nothing but a smug grin in response. Mini-Moana giggles soundlessly, and Moana giggles aloud.

“Hey, guess what, this means you’ve got another friend to hang out with!”

“Yeah, you know, I was just thinking I didn’t have enough pests permanently attached to my skin,” Maui remarks without heat. Mini-Moana meets Moana’s gaze and shrugs, grinning.

“I’m sure she’ll be good for you,” Moana tells him primly.

“We’ll see.” Maui shakes his head, then glances back at the island. “I should probably go rescue your mom from those kids, she’s got a lot to do.”

“Yeah – I should go catch up with my dad, actually, he could probably use a hand.” Moana glances down at the tattoos again. “See you later!”

“Sure, see you around-“

“Oh, I was talking to little me, actually.” Moana grins at Maui and brushes past him to head up the beach as he snorts.

* * *

 

The rest of the visit passes in a blur of activity. The voyagers from Motomanu seem just as fascinated by the experience of reaching a new island as Moana’s people, and the shared excitement gives everyone something in common.

By the time the Motonui villagers are ready to leave, Tui and Ruita had agreed – the island could be used as a meeting place. There were certainly going to be more islands meeting one another, able to trade and share stories and knowledge, and there should be somewhere they could all come to do that, besides one another’s home islands. They could pass the word along to any other voyagers they encountered, and Maui agreed to spread word as well. Standing on her canoe, Moana looks back at Motohatu. The thought of returning – meeting new people, learning what they knew, all of it makes her shiver with excitement. The world is so much wider than she could ever have hoped for, and she can’t wait to see what it holds.

The trip back is uneventful – no storms, no monsters, just the waves and stars, much to Moana’s relief. She doesn’t get to be alone on her canoe nearly as much as she did on the voyage to Motohatu – if she isn’t with one of her parents, Maui tends to come by to pester her. It doesn’t bother her too much, not knowing what they must have thought after the storm, though at times she really could use some space.

A few days after they return to Motonui, Moana finds Maui on the beach, looking out at the water, frowning slightly. She quietly walks up beside him before speaking.

“Something on your mind?” She suspects he knew she was there already – he doesn’t start when she speaks.

“I ran into some voyagers I’d taught this morning,” he says, still watching the waves. “They told me their chief’s brother was kidnapped by Kakamora.”

“Oh, no.” Moana shudders at the thought.

“Yup.” Now he looks at her. “And being here has been a lot of fun, but, someone has to go handle this kind of thing.”

“I get it.” Now it’s Moana’s turn to look out at the water. “So, I guess it’ll be a while before we see you again, huh?” It wasn’t like she hadn’t expected this, but she knew she’d worry until he could come back and prove he’d made it out safely.

“Well,” Maui says casually, “it will be a while before I can come back here.” Something about his tone is bothering her, but movement catches her eye – Mini-Moana is waving her arms. When she sees Moana looking, she darts back across Maui’s chest, and Moana steps around him to watch her. Maui stops talking and looks down, frowning. Mini-Moana hops up onto her canoe and mimes whistling. Mini-Maui jumps up beside her. They high-five and the inked boat sails up across Maui’s chest and over his shoulder.

Moana blinks, frowning. “If you guys are trying to tell me something – wait.” The wheels in her head are turning, and then she looks up, eyes wide. “Wait, were you about to-“

“Come on, guys,” Maui groans, “you couldn’t have waited just one more minute? I had a great line set up and everything.” He spreads his hands helplessly. “No sense of dramatics at all, these guys.”

“You want me to come with you?” Moana is having a hard time not shouting.

“Yeah, well, I figured the sidekick thing worked out pretty okay last time, I could give it another shot.” Now he grins. “Besides, how many legends quit after just one heroic escapade? So what do you say – Hero of the Islands? Canoe’s already packed.” The tattoo boat crests his other shoulder and plunges down his arm, occupants whooping silently.

“Yes!” Moana is definitely shouting now. “Of course I want to! Oh – wait – I have to-“She dashes past him and halfway up the beach before stopping to turn and shout back to him. “I’ll be right back! Don’t go anywhere!”

As she takes off running again she hears him call “You got half an hour, curly! We’re on a schedule here!”

Just under half an hour later, she trots back down to the canoe, pack on her shoulder, goodbyes said. Her grin is wide enough to split her face in half. “I’m ready, let’s go!”

“About time,” Maui pushes himself up from where he’d been sitting. “I was starting to wonder if I’d made a mistake.”

“Don’t worry,” Moana tells him sweetly. “You were a great sidekick last time, I’m sure you’ll do just fine.” He splutters indignantly. She grins and starts pushing the boat off the beach. “Come on! We’ve got a brother to rescue, don’t we?”

Maui catches up and pushes the boat into the water one-handed, pointing at her with the other. “Alright, if we’re doing this, I am not the sidekick. If you need a sidekick, you can go get Heihei.”

“You’re the one who started telling everyone I’m ‘Moana, Hero of the Islands.’”

“Look-“

“And you said yourself, I did the world-saving…”Moana jumps onto the boat as the ocean begins to carry it out.

Maui follows. “Fine! Fine, you’re _a_ hero. A _junior_ hero. Not _the_ hero.”

“We’ll see.” Moana pulls the sail and dips her oar into the water, heart singing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #demigodsolutions: your friend is going to die in like 80 years and you'll be the only one who remembers her? make her into a legend.
> 
> I based Ruita and Tepano's names, and the island names, off of the Rapa Nui language. I'm really, really hoping neither of those names are anachronistic. I'm pretty sure they're not, but looking for names for Moana's villagers I did find some that came from English names. Motomanu means Bird Island. Hatu has several definitions, according to the dictionary I found, but the relevant ones are "result, favourable outcome of an enterprise" and "to collude, to unite for a purpose, to concur," so. Something like "Good Result Island" but probably sounding better in translation. (I hope, anyway.)
> 
> Tepano's a decent guy, for the record, he just assumed that when Maui referred to this Moana as a kid that, well, he's centuries old, every mortal must be a kid to him. Surely this girl who tricked a giant crab monster, fought Kakamora, and restored Te Fiti has to be at least Tepano's age. It was a shock. I would make the same assumption, honestly.
> 
> Also, I know the Maui sail we see in the movie doesn't have anyone else on it(that we know of). Pretend they were on the other side, or maybe it's a different sail, I don't know. I wanted to reference his family - the movie left his siblings out of the picture, and I like to think that at some point post-movie Maui is going to stop and realize he managed to accidentally acquire a new little sister. This also has the bonus of adorable family fluff when Moana has kids who can brag about their Uncle Maui, who is /definitely/ the Fun Uncle who sneaks them treats and brings them presents when he comes to visit.


End file.
